Two Roads – L.M Augustine

The only person poetry-loving Cali Monroe hates more than herself is Logan Waters, the geeky kid who lives in the dorm building next to hers.

Ever since Cali’s parents told her she would amount to nothing, she has felt entirely inadequate. Friendless and alone, she takes on the mean girl role in hopes it will make her feel better–and Logan serves as the perfect target. He infuriates her with his obnoxiously long lashes, his all too perfect dimpled smile, and his complete lack of personality outside of his intelligence. It doesn’t hurt that he’s part of the reason her brother is dead, either. So Cali hates him, and he returns the favor. Thus, their prank-filled, insult-driven rivalry is born, and torturing Logan quickly becomes the highlight of her life.

But when Cali’s parents set them up on a blind date, she begins to realize Logan might not be as boring as she always thought. He shares her love of poetry, takes a sadistic pleasure in making fun of crepes, and he makes her blush when he calls her smile pretty.

And hey, maybe those long lashes of his aren’t that obnoxious after all…

Two Roads is New Adult Romance about finding love, standing out, and learning to embrace who you are. It contains some language and mild sexual content.

4 / 5 Stars

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My Review

*I’d like to thank L.M for an EArc copy of Two Roads in exchange for an honest review*

Since Click To Subscribe, which can I say I ABSOLUTELY LOVED, was released, I have been highly anticipating L.M’s next book, Two Roads. I was lucky enough to dedicate a week on my blog to L.M which ended in a teaser from Two Roads. It was small enough to make me excited for this book.

When I saw Two Roads in my inbox, I quickly finished my book just so I could demolish his book and become engrossed in Logan and Cali’s hatred for one another, the fun and awesome pranks they play on each other and the pain they both feel for Cali’s deceased brother.

It is L.M’s first venture into the NA genre and one that he obviously should not worry about because he nailed it to a T. I literally devoured the whole book in a day and constantly tweeted my love for it….and how I always seemed to be crying. Seriously, even at parts that weren’t even sad I was crying. But as I say, if a book makes me cry, then it’s a great one and Two Roads definitely should be on your TBR list. So just go on put it on their now, because you will regret not reading it otherwise.

You will giggle, smile, cry, swoon, shout at your kindle for the two of them to just get together and also draw your own conclusion on some of the things happening throughout the book – I know I certainly did. L.M’s writing really is fresh – he adds in humour, fun nerdy words and a romance mixed in with great pranks, emotional scenes and he makes you feel and become a part of the story. You care about Logan and Cali.

Cali hasn’t been herself for over four years, not since her brother’s death. Her parents aren’t supportive in her career choice and want her to work for them so she has a love/hate relationship with them. When she gets to college, she spots the one guy she has hated for years – her best friends brother Logan. That is where the pranks begin

My heart went out to Cali. Once an outgoing girl, she is now pretending to be someone she is not, someone who ‘sleeps around’ and acts like a complete bitch, but it’s a façade she’s hiding behind to stop the pain and grief and guilt she is constantly feeling about her brother’s death. The only thing that makes her happy is reading/writing poetry, and of course Logan; but only when she is pulling amazing pranks on him. That is when she also feels alive.

I really enjoyed her journey. Her journey with finding her true self, finding love, finding forgiveness, and most of all letting go of all the guilt she had locked inside. There was this one scene that cut me deep and all the floodgates opened. It’s where you see her accept everything in her life, see her forgive and embrace herself, her true self, with no hiding anymore. You feel proud of her for getting this far and for Logan being there throughout it all.

Now Logan. Geeky maths boy who wears geeky math tops and drinks cold hot chocolate. For a maths boy, he is kind of a ladies man, and I know I would be swooning after him – well I was throughout the book. He was Cali’s brother’s best friend and he, just as much as Cali, suffered with pain, grief and guilt over his death, but he too, learnt to keep it locked away and act like he is now fine. When Cali first gives him crap, he seems this as an opportunity to keep an eye on her so he retaliates and shows how much he ‘hates’ her too.

He’s a secret poetry lover and when he and Cali are put together on a blind date, that’s when they begin to talk, no pranks, just talk and he finds out that Cali loves poetry too. There is this convention that month and Cali is umming and ahhing about going, so he does whatever he can to make her go with him. Pulling pranks, texting her constantly until she goes with him.

That weekend is what changes everything for the both of them.

Logan is really sweet. He’s caring and lovely and so freaking funny with the pranks and the texts to Cali. No matter how much he ‘hated’ Cali, it was clear to see just how much he loved her and would do anything to make her happy – the pranks obviously did. But he wanted her to stop the anger, let go of the guilt she felt and be herself, and that’s why he wanted to keep her in eyesight and in his life, even If it meant doing to pranks on her.

Despite the ‘hate’, the romance was sweet and you really root for both of them to get together, so when Logan told Cali what he did, you just want to hug the crap out of him and be like “I KNEW IT LOGAN, I BLOODY KNEW YOU HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT.” Ohhh what an utter babe he was.

I really liked seeing both Cali and Logan happy in the end. Although it was inevitable how the ending would happen, it was a great journey to get to where they go to!

I loved the theme of poetry. I admit, I am never going to be one for poetry, but L.M actually made me interested in it, in the poems mentioned and used in Two Roads. Made me understand about poetry and the meanings that are and could be behind the words. So I’m still not a fan, but thank you L.M for highlighting the importance of poetry in Two Roads, I loved how it brought Logan and Cali together.

I also loved all the pranks that Cali and Logan devised up for each other, they were pure entertaining and funny and you could see just how much Cali needed to do this to Logan. And despite the one prank that went waaay too far and actually hurt them both in what Cali did, the rest of them were funny and childish and exactly what awesome pranks should be. Something tells me L.M is a master in pranks…. Remind me never to get on the wrong side of him 😉

So if you are looking for a book full of pranks, poetry, two people who hate each other but secretly love each other but can’t admit it due to the past then Two Roads is definitely a book worth reading. You should really invest your time reading it, because you won’t be disappointed at all!